


Links vs Sleeping

by OctolingO



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Dreams vs. Reality, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23021431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO
Summary: All nine of the Links have dealt with problems concerning sleep. Here's a look into my headcanon-y world.HUGE credit to Galactic_Fire for inspiring this work
Relationships: Hyrule & Wild (Linked Universe), Legend & Time (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Warriors, Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 52
Kudos: 248





	1. Twilight—Lack of Sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Tossing and Turning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21225410) by [Galactic_fire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galactic_fire/pseuds/Galactic_fire). 



Twilight was tired.

He was so bone-tired, he felt like he was going to collapse on his feet. In the middle of walking. Sure, it was self-induced exhaustion, since he always took the watches and being Wolfie meant he was staying up at the wee hours of the night comforting the Links, but he was so  _ tired _ . 

As the nine heroes trekked through Legend’s Hyrule, Twilight suppressed a yawn, settling for stretching his arms. Wind eyed Twilight suspiciously, but the young hero said nothing. 

“So, where are we going?” Four asked from where he stood beside Legend. Legend shrugged.

“Not sure, we’re wandering until a portal shows up and takes us out of here.” Legend said, not taking his eyes off of the path ahead of him.

“Can we camp soon?” Wind said.

“It’s not very late yet, Wind, I think it’ll probably be another few hours until we camp.” Time said, looking over his shoulder at Wind. Wind uttered a barely audible curse and continued walking. Twilight looked at the younger hero, thinking.

“Wind.” Twilight whispered. “Your feet are sore, aren’t they.” Wind looked at Twilight and nodded with a scowl. “I can carry you if you’d like.” A small part of Twilight’s brain said  _ no we’re way too tired for that please don’t  _ but Twilight ignored it when he saw Wind’s small nod. Twilight lifted Wind onto his shoulders, and once he began walking again immediately felt even  _ more _ exhaustion.  _ No, Twilight, you are not allowed to collapse while holding Wind, stay standing!  _ Twilight told himself. 

They walked in silence for a few hours before Legend sighed and sat down with his back against a tree.

“We’re camping now.” The red-clad hero said. The heroes sighed in relief, all of them sitting down and getting out their bedrolls. Twilight practically dropped Wind in his hurry to sit down. Wind gave Twilight another suspicious side-eyed look, but again he said nothing. 

“Who’s taking first watch?” Four asked.

“Not me!” Sky called from where he was already laying down. A few heroes let out breathy laughs. Twilight raised his hand.

“I can.”

“You sure, Pup? You’ve been taking a lot of watches lately.” Time said with a worried expression.

“I’m sure; I can handle it.” Twilight responded, waving a dismissive hand at Time and getting to his feet. The older hero opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but apparently thought better of it—as he said nothing and reluctantly went to his bedroll and began unpacking. Twilight stood up, turning his face towards where the moon was rising, and waited. 

It was probably 2 or 3 in the morning, and Twilight was so tired that he was sitting down on the ground for his watch. He probably should’ve woken up Hyrule to take the second watch by now, or even Time for the third, but he could handle it. 

Or so he thought.

Twilight sighed, pushing his bangs out of his face and leaning up against a tree. As he sat, his eyelids began to droop and his head began to nod.  _ No, stay awake… _ He told himself, shaking his head. 

It was no use. Twilight was just  _ so tired _ . He allowed his eyes to close, and his head leaned back against the tree.  _ I’m just going to sleep for a minute,  _ he reasoned,  _ it’ll be fine.  _

It wasn’t fine. Twilight fell asleep, only to wake up hours later—around noon. 

Twilight groaned, blearily opening his eyes and looking around. He felt better than he had in  _ ages _ . Taking in the sight of the camp, Twilight noticed three things: A cluster of bokoblin corpses, their dark blood staining the soil around them; Warriors, who was trying to clean some of said blood from his scarf with Sky’s help; and Wild, who’s tunic was stained red with  _ his  _ blood. Hyrule was lying near a tree, apparently barely conscious.

The sight of blood on Wild woke Twilight up instantly. He sprang to his feet. The rustling of his leather boots on the ground caught Legend’s attention—the red-clad boy was sitting near Hyrule. 

“You fell asleep on watch!” Legend yelled, walking over to Twilight. “How could you fall asleep on  _ watch _ ?!? You’re supposed to be keeping us safe, and Wild almost died!” 

“I—I didn’t—” Twilight stammered, but he stopped himself from talking and froze.  _ I did. I did fall asleep.  _

“Yes, you did! You did fall asleep! Did I mention the part about you falling asleep  _ on watch _ ?!” 

“Legend!” Wild snapped, recapturing Twilight’s attention. “Stop screaming at him. I’m not dead.”

“Yeah, but you almost were! Hyrule knocked himself out healing you!” 

“Look, Legend, we’re all a little disappointed in Twilight for falling asleep, but I think there’s something more there.” Time said, trying to calm down the younger hero. Time focused his attention on Twilight, who resisted the urge to squirm under his mentor’s scrutiny. “Why did you fall asleep on watch? You’ve never fallen asleep like that before. Even Sky hasn’t.”

“I heard that!” Sky called from across the camp. Twilight anxiously rubbed the back of his neck—a trait he’d noticed that many of the Links shared.

“I… haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately.” 

“And why’s that?” Legend retorted. 

“Because I do first watch so often.” Twilight said, though he knew it sounded unconvincing—it wasn’t like he could exactly tell Legend he was Wolfie. “And… I’ve had some trouble sleeping with nightmares and all.” A near-complete lie. Twilight only had nightmares on Blood Moon nights in Wild’s Hyrule, or when he was sick. Legend glared at Twilight, but he didn’t say much else. 

“You are not allowed to take first watch for the next month.” A voice said. Twilight turned to see Hyrule awake, eyes opened and fixated on Twilight.

“What?” 

“No first watch for you for the next month. You are going to sleep, and you are going to like it.”

“But—”

“You heard him, Twi.” Warriors said with a smirk. He’d gotten the blood out of his scarf and was valiantly flinging it around his neck. “Doctor’s orders.” 

“Fine.” Twilight huffed. 


	2. Legend—Dreams or Reality?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Legend has very real dreams.
> 
> Warning for major character death and blood

“We’re camping here.” Wind said, standing with his hands on his hips. 

“I’ll get first watch.” Time said. Twilight grumbled something about how he’d wanted to do that, but the glare Hyrule gave the Ordonian made him stop talking. Legend let out a breathy laugh, rolling his eyes. He unrolled his bedroll—a simple mat and leathery cushion, laying his head on the cushion and closing his eyes. 

Sleep came uncannily fast. 

Legend opened his eyes, finding himself in a dark, formless landscape. He was standing on something he couldn’t see. There was nothing else in the dark space, save for Time, who was looking around, trying to find something. Legend opened his mouth to call out, but he found his voice wouldn’t work.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you, little hero.” A smug voice said. Legend spun around.  _ Who’s there?  _ He tried to say. “I figured today you and I could have a little  _ fun. _ ” The way the voice said the word ‘fun’ sent shivers down Legend’s spine. “So just sit back and enjoy the show.” 

Legend found that his head was in a fixed position; a position that made it so all he could look at was Time. As Legend watched, a pale, bloodstained hand rose from the ground behind Time. Four more of the hands rose up around Time, forming a circle of sorts. 

Time screamed.

It was one of the most horrible noises Legend had ever heard; a raw, hoarse sound that chilled him to his bones. A horrible, wrong head and body joined the hands, rising up behind Time. The head  _ enveloped _ Time’s head in its huge, inhuman jaw, and that’s when the hands started to move in. Legend closed his eyes, trying to block out the image of those horrible hands ripping Time to shreds, but it was no use. Legend peeked an eye open to be met with Time’s corpse lying broken and torn on the dark ground. 

“Wasn’t that nice? I think you could do with another one. Don’t you?” The voice said. Legend tried to shake his head, but it wouldn’t move. He could feel tears rolling down his face. “I think you’ll like this one.”

The next figure to appear was Four. Legend tried to choke out a warning to his companion. 

Four suddenly shrunk, down to the size of a small red Gel from Koholint.  _ Oh no…  _ A loud stampeding noise began to sound, coming from seemingly nowhere. A horde of Moblin—Legend’s Moblins—ran across the surface, running right over Four as if he were but a tiny speck (which he was, from the Moblin’s perspective). A shrill squeak and a small crunching noise told Legend exactly what had happened, as did the smudge of red on the dark floor.

“Let’s do some more.” The voice laughed.  _ No, no, please…  _

Legend was forced to watch as five more of his friends were killed.

Watched as Wind was drowned by the mysterious silhouette of a large bird.

Watched as Sky fell to his death, his Loftwing impaled by an arrow and plummeting beside him. 

Watched as Warriors was stabbed by one of his own officers and left to bleed out.

Watched as Wild, trying to defend a mysterious traveler girl, was burned to a crisp by the beams of three Guardians. 

Watched as Twilight collapsed in a frozen wasteland, alone in the snow and without his trademark fur pelt.

“This is such fun, I’m so glad you can join me for it! I think you’ll like this one the most.” Legend didn’t even try to formulate a response, only looked down as tears continued to burn down his face. “This is the last one, so I’ll make it the best!” 

Hyrule appeared in the darkness. He looked around, and he made eye contact with Legend. 

“Legend! Legend, what’s happening?” He asked, running over to Legend. Legend couldn’t respond, the  _ thing _ controlling him wouldn’t let him. Hyrule’s brows furrowed. “Legend? What’s wrong?” Legend felt his hand grab a sword hilt next to him.  _ No, no no no no no no I’m not doing this no please _

“Legend? Stop! It’s me, Hyrule! Don’t!” Legend swung downwards, and Hyrule leapt backwards. “I’m your friend! Right?” 

Legend’s response was to sever Hyrule’s head from his shoulders with a sob. 

“Wake up!” A voice exclaimed. Legend’s eyes snapped open to see Time looking at him with the most “worried dad look” in all of Hyrule. 

“Time?” Legend said hoarsely. His mind was struggling to comprehend that the Time who was looking at him was in perfect health, face marred only by the regular scars and marks, not by gaping wounds from that  _ thing _ . 

“Yeah. Are you okay? You were crying.” Legend hastily wiped his face.

“I’m fine. But you’re dead. You’re supposed to be dead. I just watched you die.” Time frowned.

“You what?”

“I watched you die, you got torn to bits by that—”

“Whoah, Legend, slow down. Start from the beginning and tell me what you saw.”

“There was this dark space, and a voice told me that it was going to have some fun, and then you were there. And these bloody hands came up from the ground,” Time stiffened, “and there was this horrible head with these horrible teeth and they—they tore you apart! And then Four got crushed, Wind drowned, Sky fell  _ out of _ the sky, Warriors got assassinated, Guardians killed Wild, and Twilight froze to death, and then—then I killed Hyrule.” Legend’s voice broke down to a whisper, and he sobbed into his hands. Time was silent, his hand resting on Legend’s shoulder. 

“It was a dream, Legend.”

“What? No, it really happened, it felt so real—”

“You dreamed that. It didn’t happen. I  _ promise _ .”

“How do you know?”

“Look around. We’re all alive, you can see it with your own eyes.” Time said gently. Legend raised his head and looked at his companions: 

At Four, who was his regular size.

At Wind, who wasn’t soaking wet and floundering in the sea.

At Sky, who wasn’t lying in a crumpled heap beside the corpse of his bird.

At Warriors, who’s tunic was stained only with a bit of dirt instead of blood.

At Wild, who was adorned with no new burns, only the ones he’d had since Legend had met him. 

At Twilight, who was surrounded by his friends and had his pelt around his neck.

And finally, at Hyrule, who was sleeping soundly just beside Legend. 

Legend’s sobs returned, and Time waited for the younger hero to finish crying before he spoke again.

“Are you okay?”

“No, but none of us are.” Legend said, laughing mirthlessly. “I’m better though, thanks Old Man.”

“Anytime, Legend. Any of us are willing to listen. Goodnight, try to get some sleep before we have to get going.” Time said. He got up, moving to stand watch once more. Legend smiled, wrapping himself in his blanket once more. He checked again to make sure everyone was alive and well before allowing sleep to take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning on either Hyrule or Sky's chapter next!


	3. Hyrule—Fear of the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyrule doesn't like the dark; things hide in it.
> 
> Minor warning for some graphic description, but it's like one sentence.

“W-who’s Hyrule is th-this?” Four asked, teeth chattering in the snowstorm. 

“Mine.” Twilight said. “There’s a cave just up ahead.” 

“G-good. It’s getting d-dark.” Four said. Hyrule swallowed nervously. It  _ was _ getting dark, and Twilight’s Hyrule didn’t have a full moon tonight. It was actually a new moon, or Wild said it was going to be.  _ I hate the dark. _

“Hang in there, the cave is really close.” Twilight answered absently. 

“It’d better be.” Wind grumbled. 

Twilight was right, the nine of them reached the cave in about a half an hour. It was dark by then, so Wild lit a fire. Four and Wind busied themselves with warming up, Four by wrapping himself in his Roc’s Cape and Wind by sheepishly asking to borrow some of Wild’s cold-resistant gear. Most of the heroes fell asleep quickly, with Wild taking first watch—as Twilight was still banned from taking it, much to his annoyance. The cave dimmed as Wild’s fire sizzled out, leaving Hyrule, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet, in complete darkness. Hyrule felt a sob begin to bubble up in his throat, and he shoved his hand in his mouth.  _ Do not cry. You are a hero. Heroes don’t cry.  _ He told himself. 

It was no use. Ever since Hyrule’s first adventures, the darkness had become a hiding place for anything that lurked in his nightmares. He’d had practically more nightmares than normal dreams, and almost all of those nightmares had taken place in total darkness. Hyrule would feel blood running down his face, and then he’d wake up in a panic. 

Needless to say, Hyrule did  _ not _ like the dark. But, Wild’s campfire was gone, and Hyrule wasn’t about to wake someone up or disturb Hyrule just because of a little fear of the dark. So Hyrule settled for wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his head in them, hoping to fall asleep. 

It was no use.  _ I’ll just go to the cave mouth, it’ll be fine.  _ Hyrule suggested to himself. He crept to the entrance to the cave, shivering as the cold air blew around him. Wild was standing just outside, wearing his Snowquill Gear.  _ If I’m quiet, he won’t notice me. Probably.  _ Hyrule thought.

“Why are you out here? You’re going to freeze.” Wild said, turning around and walking over to Hyrule. Hyrule cursed under his breath. 

“I… couldn’t sleep.”

“So you came outside, because being freezing cold helps you sleep?” Wild deadpanned. Hyrule sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“No, I just, your fire burned out, and it’s really dark in that cave, and I didn’t want to sleep in a dark cave. I can sleep out here just fine.” Hyrule said defensively, speaking much faster than he usually did. Wild gave Hyrule a disappointed look.  _ Dang, he must’ve picked that up from Twilight.  _ Hyrule sighed again, looking down. “I’m afraid of the dark.” He mumbled. Wild’s expression became sympathetic. 

“And you haven’t told any of us this yet? We’ve been doing stuff in the dark for  _ months _ .” Wild said. Hyrule shook his head.

“No, because… because I’m a hero, and heroes aren’t supposed to be afraid! Especially not the dark, of all things.” 

“Hyrule, I think most of us have some sort of fear.”

“Really?”

“Sure! Legend’s afraid of boats, Wind’s afraid of vultures, Time’s afraid of the full moon, Sky and me are a little claustrophobic, and even Twilight is afraid of the dark sometimes.” Wild explained. Hyrule’s face brightened. 

“Oh. Well, is there anything you could do to help me?” He asked, hope glinting in his eyes. Wild nodded, pulling out his Sheikah Slate. He shuffled through some items before selecting three strands of a glowing blue flower. 

“These are Blue Nightshade. They only glow at night, but it might be helpful for you to have some.”

“Wild, these are wonderful! It’ll totally work! But how do we get it to a more easily carried form besides just... plants?” 

“Hmmm…” Wild trailed off, thinking. He suddenly clapped his hands a moment later. “I got it! Just give me a second.” Wild grabbed the Nightshade and began fashioning it into a ring of sorts, which he then handed to Hyrule. “A bracelet! You can wear it!” Hyrule took the bracelet, holding it as if it were the most precious thing he’d ever seen. 

“It’s beautiful.” He said softly. He looked up at Wild. “I love it.” Hyrule flung his hands around Wild’s neck, burying his face in the other’s shoulder. “Thank you.” He said, voice muffled. Wild patted Hyrule’s back (rather awkwardly). 

“You’re welcome, kid. Now go back to bed. You need your sleep.” Hyrule nodded enthusiastically and ran back into the cave, feet making  _ pitter-patter _ noises on the stone. 

Hyrule laid back down on his bedroll, making sure his hand was up near his face before he slept. The soft blue light of the bracelet lulled him to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I've decided to smush Wild and Sky into one chapter, and hopefully theirs is next!
> 
> P.S sorry this one is a little short :/


	4. Wild and Sky—Claustrophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wild volunteers to take watch, Sky sleeps outside, and stargazing ensues.
> 
> I have never played Skyward Sword, and anything I say about Skyloft is my own headcanon

“Welcome to Hateno Village!” Wild said, turning around to his friends and valiantly placing his hands on his hips. 

“This is nice, reminds me of my Kakariko.” Time commented. Legend nodded. 

“Follow me, I want to show you guys something.” Wild said, beckoning his friends with a hand before running off through the village paths, startling some miscellaneous villagers on the way. Twilight chuckled to himself. Wild led them over a precarious narrow bridge (Wind and Twilight looked unusually pale moving over said bridge) and stopped in front of a house with a sign that read,  _ Link’s House _ . The heroes stopped in shock, staring at the sign. 

“Wild?” Sky asked in disbelief. “You have a  _ house _ ?”

“Hey, I have a house too!” Legend said indignantly.

“Same.” Twilight said. “Except I live in a tree, not a real house.” Wind laughed. 

“I bought this thing, cost me 10,000 Rupees. Cost a lot more to get all the furniture and such in place.” 

“10,000 Rupees is… a lot.” Time said uncertainly.

“Eh, it was worth it.” Wild said, shrugging. “Come inside!” He ran to the door, flinging it open and going inside with a grin on his face. The others followed him with various sounds and expressions of awe.

“This is… really nice, Wild.” Sky said, grinning.

“Yeah, I always thought you lived under a grimy bridge or something.” Legend said, smirking. Hyrule elbowed him. Wild rolled his eyes. 

“I mean, you’re not 100% wrong, Legend. I have lived under bridges before.” Twilight gave Wild a look of concern. “It’s fine, Twi.” Wild said. 

“What time is it?” Wind asked, yawning.

“About 10:30.” Wild said—the long-haired hero seemed to have an internal clock. 

“Then we should all be getting to sleep.” Time said. Wind nodded. 

“I can take watch tonight.” Wild offered. 

“We’re in a village, Wild. We shouldn’t need anyone to take watch today, should we?” Hyrule asked.

“Never hurts to be careful.” Wild said, shrugging. Legend and Twilight nodded. “You guys can sleep anywhere in here, just be  _ careful _ . And Warriors, before you ask, yes you can use the bed. It’s up the stairs.”

“Yes!” Warriors exclaimed, running up the staircase. “G’night, peasants!” He called. The Links rolled their eyes. Wild went outside, deciding to patrol around the house. The various heroes selected spots along the walls or on the floor to sleep. 

It was midnight, and Sky still hadn’t slept a wink. He’d chosen to sleep leaning up against a wall, knowing sleeping anywhere else would be too cramped, but it hadn’t made a difference. He still felt locked up and trapped. 

Sky stood up, looking around at his friends. Wind had gone upstairs and stolen one of Warriors’ pillows to sleep, Four was leaning his head on the wall in a corner, Legend had his head resting on Hyrule’s shoulder (Wild definitely would’ve taken a picture, had he been in the room), Twilight had chosen to sleep in the nook under the stairs—the spot Sky disliked the most, he didn’t understand how Twilight could stand it—and Time was sleeping in the hallway-like space just before said nook.  _ I can’t do this, I need some fresh air.  _ Sky thought. 

He opened the door, pausing and cringing when it creaked. He heard Twilight stir (Sky had noticed the Ordonian had more heightened senses than the others) and froze, but there was no other indication that Twilight had actually woken up. 

Creeping outside, Sky laid down in the flowers, using his bedroll to cushion the dirt. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” A voice said. Sky scrambled to his feet, drawing a side knife—he’d left the Master Sword in its sheath inside. He spun and held the knife out in front of him. “Whoah, chill out, Sky.” The voice chuckled. “It’s just me.” Wild leapt down from atop the roof of his house, landing in front of Sky and tucking into a roll. 

“Uh, no, I couldn’t.” Sky said, running a hand through his hair. “That house is too cramped. Not that it isn’t a great house, I’m just claustrophobic.”

“I am too.” Wild said, chuckling. “We don’t actually need anyone on watch either, I just didn’t want to sleep indoors.” Sky made an understanding noise, sitting back down. Wild sat next to him in the dirt. They were silent for a few moments before Wild spoke again:

“Have you ever looked at the stars before?” Sky startled, caught off guard by Wild’s breaking the silence. 

“Yeah, we did it a lot in Skyloft. We even had this event called the Festival of Lights, where the adults would hide these little glowing stones—we called them Starbits, I’m pretty sure they were just rocks—and then the children had to go find them, and whoever got the most got a pendant with a glowing stone on it. And we’d have food and dances and—” Sky cut himself off. “It was amazing.” He said, suddenly sounding sad. “Zelda won the Starbit competition almost every year, and she’d always give her pendants away. She gave me one, once.” Sky reached into his pocket and pulled out a small necklace. 

“That’s wonderful.” Wild said quietly. “I don’t remember if we had anything like that, but I’ve spent a lot of nights staring up at the sky and trying to pick out constellations.”

“I don’t think Skyloft ever spent much time looking at const—” Sky yawned, “constellations.” Wild looked at Sky with a combination of pity and amusement. 

“We should go to bed.” He said.

“What? No, I’m not tired.” Sky said. 

“Sky, this is probably the latest you’ve ever stayed up in your whole life.” Wild said. “You go to bed and I’ll go to bed.”

“Okay…” Sky said reluctantly, but his bedroll was looking awfully tempting. He laid down, facing the stars, and closed his eyes. He was asleep in moments. 

Wild stared at his sleeping companion for a moment before lying down in the grass.  _ I still don’t understand how people fall asleep that quickly.  _

Legend woke up, and, upon realizing he’d fallen asleep on Hyrule’s shoulder, hastily got to his feet. 

The first thing he noticed was that Sky was missing.  _ Crap.  _ He flung open the door and drew his sword, running out into the green grass of Wild’s front/side yard. 

He was met with the sight of Sky and Wild sleeping in the grass. 

Legend stopped, letting his sword drop to his side.  _ Idiots. You’re going to have grass stains all over yourselves.  _ He thought, albeit affectionately. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, I think that's like 4 chapters in one week (wow!)
> 
> We still have Time, Warriors, Four, Wind, and then a last secret chapter!
> 
> I'm planning on Time next (angst will ensue!)


	5. Time—Sleepmoving/Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full moon wreaks havoc on Time’s sleeping patterns

“My Hyrule!” Wild announced. 

“Again? We only just left it!” Legend whined, though, it had been his Hyrule they’d been transported out of, so he was probably bitter. 

“Lighten up, Legend! I think Wild’s Hyrule is unique.” Sky said. Wind nodded in agreement.

“Are there any villages nearby?” Time asked. Wild pulled out his Sheikah Slate, looking at the map. 

“No, we’re just to the west of Korok Forest. The closest village is at least three days away. Or, we could always just warp—”

“No!” Twilight exclaimed, having unpleasant flashbacks to how dizzy and lightheaded he got whenever Wild made them use the Sheikah Slate’s transportation. “We can camp in the wild, Wild.” Legend snickered. 

“Okay, okay, we don’t have to warp. Sorry Twi.” Wild said quietly. “We’re still going to head for a village though. Follow me!” Wild spun on his heel and strode off through the grass, the other heroes following him. 

“It’s getting pretty dark,” Twilight said, looking around. “We should camp soon.” 

“I agree.” Hyrule said. His face was illuminated by the blue glow of his Nightshade bracelet. 

“Yeah, I’m tired too.” Sky put in, stretching his arms. Wild sighed.

“Alright, let’s camp.” He said reluctantly, plopping his pack down on the ground. The others did too, Wind and Four doing so with barely audible sighs of relief. 

Time looked to the sky and felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Wild?” He said uncertainly, willing his voice to hide the amount of fear he felt.

“Yeah?” Wild said from where he stood, sorting through his pack.

“Is that a… full moon?” 

“Oh, yeah. Tonight’s a full moon.” Wild said nonchalantly, obviously not realizing that anything was wrong. Time swallowed nervously. Twilight gave his mentor a look of worry—he was the only one that Time had told about the adventures in Termina, and even then Twilight only knew about half of it. Time opened his mouth to reply to Wild, but no sound came out.

“I’ll take first watch.” Warriors announced, walking over to Time and Wild and raising his hand. 

“I was going to take first—” Wild said, but he looked at the glare Hyrule was giving him. “You can do it.”

“Thanks.” Warriors winked at Hyrule, who rolled his eyes. 

“Can we eat? I’m hungry.” Wind said. 

“We already ate, Wind.” Legend said.

“I know, but I’m still hungry.” Wild chuckled, taking an apple from his Sheikah Slate and tossing it to Wind. Wild turned to Time.

“Old Man, you want anything?” 

“No.” Time said, voice rough. He cleared his throat. “No, thank you Wild.” He repeated, louder this time.  _ Don’t look at the moon, don’t look at it…  _

“Are you okay?” Hyrule asked, looking at Time. 

“I’m alright, I just need some sleep.” Time said, smiling at Hyrule. He made a point of laying down on his bedroll and closing his eye. 

_ Consume…  _

The voice spoke in Time’s mind, distorted and menacing. Time found himself in the courtyard of Clocktown, staring up at the grimacing visage of the moon. 

_ I will consume…  _

“No, no, no, no,  _ no,  _ NO!” Time screamed, covering his ears. He needed his mask, he needed  _ the _ mask to protect them. 

The Mask of the Fierce Deity appeared in his hand. 

_ I will consume…  _ **_everything_ ** . 

The moon began falling, bringing destruction down onto the citizens of Clocktown. Time closed his eyes and placed the mask on his face. 

“Time! Stop!” A voice yelled. Time opened his eye and saw the angry face of Warriors, who was grabbing Time’s arm and pulling on it. Time wondered why until he saw what was in his hand. 

The Fierce Deity’s Mask. 

Time threw the mask away from him, where it clattered on the ground near the feet of Twilight—who was awake, all the Links were, and was sitting with his knees hugged up to his chest by a tree—who jumped back from it with a feral snarl. 

“Time? Are you awake?” Wind asked timidly. The young hero seemed near tears. Time nodded, staring at the mask with a stunned expression on his face. 

“What in Hylia’s name was that?” Warriors demanded. “You almost put that thing  _ on your face _ .”

“I…” Time said, “I was dreaming.”

“Oh yeah? And what were you dreaming about that you felt the need to put a  _ mask of death _ on your face?” 

“I needed to save them.” Time said quietly. 

“Why did you put the mask on in real life, then?”

“I… don’t know. I didn’t realize I was doing it.” Time said. Wild drew in a sharp breath. Time looked at Wild. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I’ve done stuff like that.” Wild said. Time shakily pushed himself to his feet. 

“I’m alright now.” He said, giving Wind and Wild reassuring looks.

“And what do we do when you have another dream? More importantly, why do you still have that thing?” Warriors said. Time sighed.

“I can’t get rid of it. It won’t go away.” He whispered. Warriors opened his mouth as if to say something, but he shut it and didn’t speak.

“You should go talk to Twilight.” Hyrule piped up. Warriors nodded.

“What’s wrong with Twilight?” Time asked, suddenly alert. Hyrule gestured to the older hero, who had resumed his knee-hugging position and was staring at the mask with animalistic  _ hate _ .

“He tried to pull your arm away, and he touched the mask.” Hyrule said. Time gasped softly. “He’s been sitting by that tree for the past few minutes, muttering about the mask and some sort of a scream in his head.” Hyrule shuddered.

“I’ll see if I can rouse him.” Time said, placing a hand on Hyrule’s shoulder as he walked

past the younger hero and over to his protegé. Twilight looked up at Time as the hero sat down, cobalt eyes filled with fear. 

“Twi? Cub, speak to me.”

“That mask is going to kill us all…” Twilight mumbled, in a voice much to docile and defeated for the fur-clad hero. “It screamed, it screamed in my head and it’s going to kill us all…”

“Twilight, it’s okay. The mask won’t hurt you.”

“I touched it and it screamed…” Twilight said, as if he hadn’t heard Time.

“ _ Cub _ . It won’t hurt you. I can control it. You’re okay.” Time said. But Twilight continued murmuring. Time looked helplessly at his apprentice.

Until he noticed Twilight’s Shadow Crystal.

It was glowing  _ purple _ , a strange, ethereal shade of purple. As Time watched he could see the purple light flowing from the Crystal into Twilight’s chest. Time carefully touched the crystal, restraining a gasp as the light flowed from the Crystal into the air and off on the winds. Twilight’s eyes cleared, looking up at Time again.

“Time? What happened?” He said uncertainly. Time smiled.

“I’ll tell you about it later, Cub.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, I have fun writing this chapter!(is that a bad thing?)
> 
> Wind’s is coming up next!


	6. Wind—The Ground is too Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wind has to get used to sleeping not on a boat.

“This is my Hyrule, I think.” Twilight said as the world materialized around them.

“How close is Zora’s Domain?” Wind asked immediately.

“Not close, I’m afraid. We’re near Death Mountain, that’s almost four days away from the Domain.”

“What is your deal with Zora’s Domain?” Legend asked, amused. 

“It’s full of water!” Wind said defensively. “It reminds me of my Hyrule.” 

“I like the Zoras too, Wind.” Wild said, smiling at the younger hero.

“No, you just like them because of your Zora boyfriend!” Legend teased. Wild’s face reddened. Twilight shoved Legend. 

“Leave him alone, he’s not the only one of us who’s gay.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, watch yourself.” Warriors said, crossing his arms.

“Sorry.” Legend muttered. The heroes walked in slightly awkward silence until Time spoke:

“It is getting dark, we should make camp.”

“Yeah, your Hyrule has skeletal monsters, doesn’t it?” Wild asked. Twilight nodded.

“Alright, good idea.” 

“I’ll take watch.” Wild said, smirking at Twilight. “You only have four more days Twi, and then you can take it. I promise. Guys!” The other heroes looked at Wild. “We have to promise to let Twi take the watch in four days.”

“Sure.” Legend’s response.

“Why not?” Four’s response.

“I don’t want watch anyways.” Sky and Wind’s response.

“I promise.” Warriors and Time’s response—with a smirk. 

“Only if  _ he _ promises to actually get sleep. No more of this ‘I don’t need sleep I can take watch every night’ business.” Hyrule response, coupled with another one of his ‘doctor-glares’. Twilight gave a tired smile to Wild.

“Thanks, Cub.” He said, ruffling his protegé’s hair. 

“You’re welcome.” Wild said, smiling. “Now, I’m going to make dinner. You got any special Ordonian food you want me to use?”

“No, we haven’t been anywhere for me to pick anything up.” Twilight said. Wild shrugged.

“Alright, I’ll make curry.”

“Do NOT put an entire jar of Goron Spice in it again!” Warriors yelled from across the camp. 

“Okay, I’ll put TWO jars in!” Wild yelled back. 

“NO!” 

“You guys are no fun.” Wild grumbled. “But I  _ am  _ putting some Spice in it anyways.” He turned and pulled nine cooking pots from his Sheikah Slate, making Wind and Twilight jump.

“You can fit those in there?” Wind asked, pointing at the pot, which Wild was now filling with ingredients.

“I can fit anything in here.” Wild said, patting the Sheikah Slate. 

“Have you ever figured out the full capacity of it?” Sky said.

“No, I don’t think it even has one.”

“Less talking, more cooking!” Warriors called. Wild rolled his eyes, but refocused his attention on the soups he was making. The other heroes sat down around a campfire Legend was making.

“What time is it?” Hyrule wondered, poorly suppressing a yawn. His bracelet had begun to glow.

“Late.” Wind said, nodding wisely. 

“It’s 9:45, Hyrule!” Wild shouted. “And my soup will be done in a few minutes, so no complaining, Warriors!” Warriors muttered something. 

“Time…?” Twilight said softly, moving to sit next to his mentor. Time turned to Twilight.

“Yes, Pup?”

“What did happen? That night, a few days ago.”  _ Ah _ . Time thought, thinking back.

“I… had a nightmare.” Time said, realizing how stupid it sounded. “And I grabbed the Fierce Deity’s Mask.” Twilight stiffened. “I was trying to put it on my face in my sleep. And you… tried to pull my hand away, and you touched it.” 

“And it screamed.” Twilight whispered, eyes widening.

“And it screamed.” Time confirmed. 

“You didn’t put the mask on, did you?” Twilight suddenly demanded.

“No, I didn’t. The Mask has been taken care of.” Time said, ruffling Twilight’s hair. Twilight smiled. 

“Dinner is served!” Wild said, precariously bringing nine bowls of soup over to everyone. “Please grab them before I drop them.” Upon hearing this, Warriors and Wind scrambled to grab the bowls and pass them out to everyone. 

“Why does mine look different than everyone else's?” Wind asked, looking at the bits of fish in his bowl.

“Because I made everyone else a different kind of soup. Yours is fish and shrimp.” Wild said, putting his hands on his hips. Wind smiled.

“Awesome!” He exclaimed. “What are the other ones?”   
“Hmmm…” Wild said, biting his fingernails, “Twilight’s is cheese, Time’s is cream of chicken, Legend’s is apple, Hyrule’s is basic chicken soup, Warriors’ is lobster bisque, Sky’s is pumpkin, mine is Lynel, and Four’s is Roc meat and seeds.” 

“I’m sorry, did you say yours was Lynel, Cub?” Twilight asked, brows furrowing in worry. Wild nodded.

“Yep! I killed the Lynel and used its horn and hooves in the broth.” Wild said, sounded incredibly proud of himself.

“What’s the orange stuff in it?” Four asked. Wild looked into his bowl.

“Oh, that. Lynel Guts.” Wild said. Four spit his soup out onto the ground in shock.

“That’s disgusting, Wild.” Warriors said, making a fake gagging sound. Twilight nodded warily.

“And probably is going to kill you.” The Ordonian added. Wild shrugged.

“It tastes good, I don’t care how bad it is for me.” He ate a piece of the Guts. “Do you guys like yours?”

“The customizing was a nice touch.” Time said. “I like mine a lot.”

“Same.” Twilight said, showing Wild an empty bowl. “And I think I’d like seconds.”

“Agreed.” Sky said, smiling. Wild laughed.

“Alright then!” The Champion said. “Anyone else want some while I’m up?”

Six more hands went up in the air. 

After having three or more bowls of soup each, every hero practically passed out the moment their heads touched their bedrolls. Everyone except Wild, who’d claimed watch, and Wind, who simply couldn’t sleep. The hard ground was too still, and the air smelled like dirt instead of the salt water he was used to. Wind sat up, looking around. The other seven heroes were sound asleep, with Twilight, Time, and Sky snoring. No one seemed to be having nightmares either. 

The glow of Hyrule’s bracelet caught Wind’s eye.  _ Hmm.  _ He thought.  _ I wonder if Wild could help me too. I’ll bet he can. _ Wind walked over to the other hero, who was peering out into the forest.

“Wild!” Wind whispered. Wild turned around.

“Yeah? What do you need? Wanna break Twi’s soup record?” He said with a smile, referencing the fact that Twilight had eaten 7 bowls of soup, more than even Time or Wild. 

“No. At least, not right now. I was wondering if you could help me with something.” 

“Sure, what?”   
“I can’t sleep.” Wild’s expression softened a little.

“Are you afraid of the dark too?”

“No, I’m just not used to sleeping on the ground instead of on a boat. It’s too still.” 

“Ah. I think we can help with that.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Have you ever heard of a hammock?” Wild asked in a conspiratorial tone. Wind grinned.

About an hour later, Wild held up a hammock he and Wind had just made. It was crafted from Wind’s Sail, and some of Wild’s sewing prowess (he said he’d had to learn after getting sick of paying to have the same pair of pants fixed three times a week). The knots that connected the hammock to the trees were tied by Wind—he’d gotten quite good at it, living with pirates. 

“Is that good?” Wild asked quietly, as it was still nighttime. 

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Wild.”

“You’re welcome.” Wild said, smiling and ruffling Wind’s hair. “You should probably get to bed.”

“Yeah.” Wind agreed. He tied the hammock between two trees and climbed in, smiling as an inhale brought the scent of salt to his nose. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. 

“Good morning adventurers!” Warriors said, standing up and pointing valiantly to the sky. Wind groaned, sitting up and almost falling out of his hammock. He got out of it, untying it and rolling it back up to put in his pack.

“How’d you sleep with your new arrangements?” Wild asked Wind. Wind smiled.

“Awesome.”

“I assume Wild helped you make it?” Time said. Wind nodded, thinking.

“I want you guys to help with it too.” He said.

“It’s already complete, how can we help?” Hyrule wondered.

“Can you all sew?”

“To an extent, yeah.” Twilight said.

“Then you can sew your names into my hammock! You know, so I can always remember you guys.”

“Awww, that’s very sweet of you, Wind! I’d love to!” Sky said, clasping his hands together and smiling. 

“Great!” Wild said. “I have a sewing kit, and Sky, you can go first.”

“Do  _ not  _ prick your finger and get blood on it!” Wind warned with a scowl. 

“I won’t, I won’t.” Sky said. 

Minutes later, Wind was holding a newly-signed hammock with the names of his eight friends on it: 

Wild, written in a jagged script (“I’m still relearning my Hylian.”).

Hyrule, written very small and with a shaky hand.

Sky, who had drawn a flower at the curl of the ‘y’. 

Time, written in a no-nonsense, easy-to-read font.

Legend, who had begrudgingly written his name with surprisingly neat handwriting. 

Twilight, written in a dark thread and with difficult to read penmanship (“I grew up on a farm, I was never very good at writing!”).

Four, who had insisted on using four thread colors to sign his name. 

And Warriors, who had written his name in all caps with a font almost as flowery as Sky’s. 

Wind would cherish that hammock for the rest of his days, he was sure of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait with this chapter, I got a little bit of writers block :/


	7. Four—Waking Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four sees things. Things no one else sees.

“Rise and shine, sleepyheads!” Wild said as the sun came up. The various heroes awoke with varying degrees of groaning (or even cursing, in Wind and Warriors’ case), getting to their feet and putting on any articles of clothing they didn’t sleep with—such as Twilight’s gauntlets or Legend’s cap. Four opened his eyes, feeling as if he hadn’t slept a wink.

_ I hate mornings.  _ Blue whined.

_ Oh, don’t be so grumpy!  _ Red proclaimed.  _ I think mornings are nice.  _

_ You think everything’s nice.  _ Blue retorted.

_ I do not!  _

“Who’s Hyrule is this?” Sky asked sleepily, looking around. “We fell asleep in Wind’s, didn’t we?”

“Yeah,” Legend said, stretching, “but this is my Hyrule. I guess we Switched in our sleep.”

“We must have.” Twilight agreed, rubbing his forehead. “My pounding headache confirms it.”

“Legend, if this is your Hyrule, where exactly are we?” Four asked. Legend looked around.

“I’d guess we’re near Kakariko Village, but it’s hard to be sure. A lot of my Hyrule looks the same.” 

“Great. Then we can go there to restock on supplies.” Time said. Legend nodded.

“Lead the way, O Pantless Prince.” Warriors said with a smirk ( _ Oooh, bad idea, scarf-man. _ Blue said). Legend flushed, turning and around and kicking Warriors. 

“Don’t call me that.”

“I was just kidding!” Warriors exclaimed. “There was  _ no _ need to kick me there!”

_ Knew it!  _ Blue exclaimed. Green snickered.

“Well, you were kinda asking for it.” Hyrule pointed out with a slight smile. Warriors scowled at Hyrule. Four smiled, a laugh threatening to show itself, but his mirth disappeared in a second when he saw something dark flash behind Hyrule. Four ripped his gaze away from his friends, alertly scanning the forest. His hand came to rest on his sword hilt as he watched. The dark smudge appeared again, behind Twilight this time. 

A pair of sinister red eyes appeared in the gloom of the shadow.

A sword blade raised over Twilight’s head.

_ It’s going to kill him!  _ Red shouted.

_ Shut up!  _ Blue snapped. 

“Watch out!” Four yelled, running forward and shoving Twilight out of the way. He lifted his sword to block the shadow’s, and he did block it, but strangely felt no impact when the two blades collided. The shadow growled something unintelligible and retreated, no doubt planning its next move.

_ Yeah, that’s right, you’d better run!  _ Green said triumphantly. Four could picture the courageous hero pumping his fist in the air.

_ Don’t get so excited, Green.  _ Vio chastised.  _ I’m sure it’ll be back. _

_ Wow, way to ruin the mood, Vio,  _ Blue complained. 

“What? Four, what?” Twilight asked, angrily brushing dirt off his tunic.

“That thing!” Four said, gesturing to the forest with his sword. “That shadow had a sword! It was about to cut your head off!” 

The shadow appeared once more, this time holding a glinting Hookshot that was aimed at Time’s neck. The Hookshot fired, and Four jumped to deflect it with his shield. 

“See? There it was again!” Four said, exasperated.

“Four, we didn’t see anything.” Time said, sounding worried. 

“What?” Four asked, feeling dread settle in his stomach. 

“There was nothing there.” Time repeated. 

“Are you sure?”

“Quite.” The weapon dropped from Four’s grasp onto the dirt. Four sat down, putting his head in his hands.

“I thought it was getting better!” He muttered. 

“Thought what was getting better?” Legend asked. 

“Nothing, I—” Four cut himself off with a sigh. “Sometimes, after I wake up, I… see things.” He said.

“What kind of things?” Time asked, concerned.

“Anything. Friends from my adventures, monsters…”

“How long has this been happening?”

“Since I was little. It was easy to tell the difference at first, but now… it’s just hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.” Four said helplessly.

“I know how that feels.” Legend said. Time nodded. 

“And I think I have something that could help.” Time said, rummaging through his pack. He pulled out a purple magnifying glass with the Sheikah Eye symbol on it. “It’s the Lens of Truth. It should help you tell between reality and illusion.”

“Oh, Time, thank you, but I couldn’t possibly—”

“Take it. It will help you more than it can help me.” Time said firmly. Four looked down at the Lens, cradling it.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

A few days later, Four woke up in the morning to see the shadow-creature was back. He calmly placed the Lens over his eye, grinning as the shadow dissolved from view. 

_ Thank you, Time. Thank you so much. _ Red said, and Four could picture the scarlet version of himself grinning.

_ Oh, don’t get all sentimental and mushy.  _ Blue said.  _ It’s gross.  _

Green laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was my first attempt really writing Four, please tell me if anything was off.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, Warriors is coming!!


	8. Warriors—Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cia was not kind to Warriors in the waking world, neither was she in the world of dreamers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for unsafe touching and such because Cia is a creep
> 
> Also slight self-harm warning
> 
> Sorry this is a really angsty chapter

“Twilight gets watch!” Wild exclaimed, gesturing excitedly to the orange sky.

“Finally!” Twilight said, smiling. “Honestly, I don’t understand how you guys sleep that long.”

“I would sleep twice as long if I could.” Sky pointed out. Wind chuckled. 

“You can have watch, Twi, but as long as you only take it four times a week. You need to sleep.” Hyrule said, putting his hands on his hips.

“Sure thing, ‘Rule.” Twilight said.

“Does everyone have their bedrolls?” Time asked, ever the parent of the group.

“Yeah, Old Man.” Legend said with a smirk. “Calm yourself.” Time scowled good-naturedly at Legend. The various heroes unpacked their bedrolls, laying them out on the ground, except for Wind—who unpacked his hammock, which now had a muddy nose-print from Wolfie on it too. 

“Goodnight!” Sky said, burying himself under his three blankets. Twilight stood, standing towards the edge of the campsite and using the moonlight to scan the forest. He subconsciously rested a hand on his Shadow Crystal, ready to transform if any of the heroes needed it. 

Warriors opened his eyes, finding himself within Cia’s Temple of Souls. He was in the chamber where the Dark Links had nearly killed him. 

“Oh, Link!” Cia called in a sing-song voice. The sorceress appeared seemingly from nowhere, standing before Warriors with her staff slung over her shoulder and her bird-like mask hiding her face. “I’m so glad you came back! I knew you would.” Cia sauntered around Warriors, wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace. Warriors cringed as the beak of her mask dug into his shoulderblades. 

“Oh right, my mask.” Cia said with a giggle. “I don’t need this silly thing.” A clatter sounded as Cia discarded her mask, tossing it to the floor. She strode around to face Warriors, keeping her hand on his shoulder. 

Warriors shoved down a wave of panic.

“Why the long face, Link?” Cia said, her lips forming into a pout. “Do you not like me?” Warriors tried to respond, opening his mouth, but no sound came out. Cia smiled in a sickening way.

“Awwww, you’re speechless? Am I too desirable for words? That’s sweet.” She said. Her hand began moving away from his shoulder, drifting to rest on his cheek. Cia lifted a finger, tracing a line down Warriors’ jawline. Warriors flinched, craning his neck away from the contact.

Cia’s light touching became aggressive, her fingernails digging into Warriors’ chin and face.

“Now, Link, you wouldn’t want to upset me, would you?” Cia asked sweetly, punctuating her remark with a predatory grin. Warriors gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. “Good.” Cia loosened her grip on Warriors, letting her hand fall to his hip. She leaned in, bringing her face mere inches from Warriors’. 

“I have always wanted to do this.” She whispered, both hands gliding up to grasp Warriors’ neck. Warriors gasped. 

Cia kissed Warriors.

She kissed him hard, her mouth violently colliding with his. Warriors struggled, trying to push away, but Cia only gripped him harder. Cia’s mouth traveled away from his lips—Warriors gasped again, this time to take in air—and moved down his face and neck, until she got to his collarbone. Warriors felt like he was about to cry. 

“Stop, please…” He managed to choke out. Cia, mercifully, did stop her torturing of him, looking up with eyes clouded with desire.

“Stop?” She said, giving him a tired smile. “Link, this the only thing I’ve ever wanted. The only thing you’ve ever wanted—” Warriors shoved her backwards, stumbling away. This was one of the only times he’d ever been afraid of Cia.

Cia frowned, her hand coming up to her chest.

“I never wanted this.” Warriors growled, hoping his voice sounded more angry than scared. “I never wanted you.” Cia screamed in rage, looking at Warriors.

“I did all this for you!” She yelled, gesturing to the room, filled with images and sculptures of him. “I loved you! Even your precious princess didn’t, but I did!”

“You never loved me.” Warriors said. “This,” He swept a hand around the room, “isn’t love. It's obsession.” 

He put a booted foot on Cia’s mask and shattered it. 

“Warriors! Wake up!” Someone yelled. Warriors didn’t recognize the voice, he only realized that the person had their hands on his shoulders. 

He blindly lashed out, feeling his fist connect with someone’s face. There was an audible crunch, and a shout of pain. Warriors opened his eyes, seeing Twilight lying on the ground in front of him with a hand clutched to his face.

“Oh gosh, Twi, I’m sorry, I—” Warriors stuttered, but Twilight held up a hand to silence the Captain.

“Don’t be.” He said. “It’s not the first time I’ve had my nose broken, it’s not even the second.” He smiled, though the smile had no happiness in it. “Are you alright?” Twilight asked, looking at Warriors with concern.

“...I’m alright.” Warriors said, even as he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. As he talked, Twi rummaged through his bag and held a cloth to his nose.

“What were you dreaming about?” Twilight said quietly. “Don’t try to deny it, I know you had a nightmare.”

“I don’t want to burden you with nightmares, you don’t have any and I don’t need to give you some—”

“I don’t have nightmares?” Twilight said with a laugh. “What world have you been living in?”

“I—Well, you never wake up screaming like Time and Sky, or crying like Hyrule and Wind, and I’ve never heard you sleep talk like Legend does—”

“I have nightmares.” Twilight interrupted. 

“Then why haven’t any of us noticed?”

“Because the only reaction I give, most of the time, is rolling around or—” Twilight cut himself off. 

“Or what?” Warriors prodded. Twilight sighed. 

“You can’t tell anyone about this, okay?” He whispered. Warriors nodded.

“Okay.”

“Or clawing my arms.” Twilight said quietly, taking his gauntlets off and rolling up his sleeves. Warriors gasped.

Twilight’s forearms were a messy web of scars and dried blood in streaks. 

“You did that? To yourself?” 

“Not on purpose.” Twilight said quickly. “It just happens when I have nightmares.”

“That’s… Twi, that’s awful.”

“I know.” 

“I really am sorry for punching you, you know.” Warriors said. 

“I already told you, it’s not a big deal.” Twilight assured him. “What prompted you to do that anyways?”

“I… my nightmare had a person in it from my adventures.”

“...Okay.”

“Her name was Cia,” Warriors continued, “and she was obsessed with me. Obsessed. Her palace had statues of us, and pictures of me, and she—she just wasn’t alright. My dream stuck me in a room with her, and she started touching me and kissing me and—” Warriors quieted his voice. “It was so awful, Twi. I’ve never been so scared in my life, and it was only a dream.”

“I’m sorry, Warriors.” Twilight said, and he truly did sound sorry. “I had no idea.”

“And I had no idea you had nightmares.” Warriors said. Twilight smiled tiredly; it seemed staying up the whole night was taking its toll. 

“Then I suppose we’ve both learned something new about each other.” He said, standing up. “You should try to get some more sleep.”

“Don’t fall asleep on watch again!” Warriors said as Twilight turned around. Twilight looked over his shoulder with a smirk.

“I won’t.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! The Links are done!
> 
> But surprise! I’m adding a ninth, secret chapter! You’ll just have to wait and see what it is :D


	9. The Secret Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Links have some no-good characters watching them this night...

The shadow creature crouched in the darkness, peering through slitted eyes at the nine heroes lying amongst the campfire—save for the Hero of Twilight, who once again had volunteered to be on watch. 

“We should come back on another night, Deity.” One of his companions said: Assassin, the jack-of-all-trades with four different personalities to match. Deity shook his head. 

“No, it needs to be tonight.” He said in a deep voice. “The Blood Moon is tonight, our powers are strongest now. We wait until midnight, and then…”

“Then we have a little fun.” Carnage said, grinning and cracking his knuckles. The glowing patterns on his forehead stuck out amongst the gloom of Darkness’ hiding spell. Darkness was the sorcerer of their group, though he wasn’t seen much on account of his being very timid. 

“When is midnight, anyways? My legs are getting sore.” Fury whined. The purple-haired hero had chosen to wear a purple robe for this mission, and the white rabbit clasp glistened in the moonlight. Deity wished his companions would’ve chosen more stealth-oriented outfits.

“Midnight’s in exactly 1 hour, 17 minutes.” Feral said. Though he was far from the smartest in the group—that award went to Assassin’s personality, V—Feral did have an uncanny sense of what time it was. 

“I do not like sitting in darkness.” Obsession declared, flinging his blue scarf around his shoulders. “It is undignified.”

“Better than having to look at your face.” Fury said.

“Silence.” Deity said. His companions obeyed, looking at the ground. Deity sighed. He didn’t want them to be afraid of him, but the fact he was a good head taller than their other two tallest members (Carnage and Obsession), the markings on his face, and the double-helix sword he wielded had earned their fear. 

“Deity!” Someone whispered. It was Apprentice, the youngest member of the group. The youth was a genius, knowing how to sail both a sailboat and a steamboat, and he knew how to drive a train. He was always looking for more talents to learn, especially how to use Feral’s Sheikah Slate or one of Fury’s many items. 

“Yes?” Deity asked.

“Can’t we just shoot ‘em and get it over with?” The boy said, holding up a flintlock pistol.

“No, because it will wake up whoever you don’t manage to kill, and then we’re going to be dead.”

“I thought we were more powerful than them.” Insomnia said, ever the alert one in the group. For some reason, he didn’t seem to be able to sleep at all, despite the incredibly soft shawl of feathers he wore. 

“We are, as a whole, more powerful than one of them.” Deity clarified. “They, as a whole, are more powerful than us as a whole.”

“Shh!” Darkness said, his voice coming from seemingly nowhere. “Twilight is coming over here, and this spell can’t block sound.” Darkness’ warning quieted Deity and Insomnia instantly. The Hero of Twilight strode right past them, failing to notice the suspicious spot of black caused by Darkness’ spell. 

“How much longer?” Deity asked Feral, earning a glare from Darkness—the boy had revealed himself on the far side of his spell’s active area, draped in his billowing black cloak. 

“57 minutes, Deity.” Feral said. 

“Then we wait.” Deity decided. Obsession and Fury groaned. 

“How much longer now?” Deity asked when he felt enough time had passed.

“5 seconds.” Feral said, a glint in his eye. 

“Wonderful.” Deity said. “Carnage, ready the portal.” 

“Readying.” Carnage said with a grin. 

“Darkness, can you keep the other heroes sleeping while we deal with the Twilight one?”

“Already doing it, Deity.” Darkness said. He dropped the camouflage spell at the same time as Carnage opened his Twilit Portal. Nine Shadow Insects crawled from the portal, the carapace on their legs clicking together. Carnage directed one of the Insects to each of the Links, where they bit the heroes, inflicting them with their venom. Twilight was the only one who made any sound when he was bitten; he emitted a sigh, one that was almost relieved, before collapsing limply on the ground. Carnage beckoned the Insects back into his portal, then closed it with a  _ whoosh _ . 

“Can we just kill them?” He asked Deity.

“No. Ganon said they wanted the heroes  _ alive _ .” Deity said. “As did his many associates.”

“Guys!” Feral called, taking out his Sheikah Slate. “If we want to get them to the prison before they wake up, we should do it soon.”

“What about their items?” Insomnia asked.

“We’ll take them off later.”

“I get first pick of them, remember.” Fury warned.

“Ready to warp, Feral?” Obsession asked. Feral nodded, prompting a moan from Carnage.

“I hate warping.”

Their vision turned a malicious pink as Feral warped them and their newfound prisoners away from the campsite and off to places unknown. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more of an intro into my next fic than a continuation of this current one, but I hope none of you are too disappointed.
> 
> PS: did you notice similarities between the Links and the newcomers *smirks*


End file.
